Of Elevators and Memories
by Maribeliza
Summary: Katniss Shepard has had enough. She knows what she wants, but how is she going to get it? Rated M for content of smexy smexin's.
1. Chapter 1

Katniss Shepard had had enough. The man had been teasing and flirting from the moment they met, but that was it. He had never even _tried_ to go beyond teasing. She had flat out asked him if he was going to and he just stuttered looking like, what was that old phrase, a deer in the headlights. Admittedly, it was damned adorable to see the mountain of a man rendered speechless, but Katniss didn't want speechless. Katniss wanted the aggressive side she knew was buried under that shyness. She wanted James Vega, and God help her, she knew just how to get what she wanted. bur first, she'd have to enlist the help of her good friend Garrus Vakarian.

"Oh, _Gar_-rus!" a melodic voice rang through the ducts as a girl popped open the vent hatch. Everyone teased her about refusing to use the elevator, instead preferring to slink and scramble through the Normandy's duct-works. Her usual reply was was a smirk and a retort that her mother had often teased her that she must be part cat somehow.

"Spirits, I know that tone. What are you up to now, Kat?" the Turian asked, looking up from the Thanix cannon's console, mandibles spreading in the Turian approximation of a grin.

"I need a favor." Katniss said as she perched atop the cannon's housing when it was not in use. She gave a very smug cat-like grin as she curled up, well aware that she was the only one Garrus would let get away with such a thing.

"Let me guess. You're tired of Vega's teasing and want me to distract him so you can find a perch to pounce him from." Garrus deadpanned, folding his arms and raising his brow ridge teasingly. She cackled and clapped her hands gleefully.

"You know me so well." she purred, stretching. "Pleeease? I'll buy you a bottle of your favorite brandy from Palaven next time we hit the Citadel."

"You've got a deal, Kat." he said with a laugh. She squealed with glee and hopped down to hug the Turian. "Give me ten minutes and he'll be busy for a good hour."

"Thanks, Gar!" came the chirped reply as she skittered back into the ducts, leaving the Turian shaking his head and laughing as he heard the tell-tale brief static that signaled her linking her visor to his. She had, like him, long ago taken to wearing it even while off duty. "Just do me a favor and unlink before you pounce. I have zero desire to see Jimmy Vega naked." A shriek of delighted laughter echoed through the ship.

"No problema. That eye-candy is _all_ mine." sang her voice through his visor's earpiece. Garrus shook his head before punching a message to Vega into his omni-tool.

/Hey, Vega. Drinks in the mess in five? I think it's time the human learned what it's like to be a _real_ soldier./ Garrus laughed to himself as he waited for the reply, and he didn't have to wait long.

/Oh, hell no. You're on, Scars. You're going down!/ Vega responded almost immediately.

"I thought that would work. You humans love your, what was it you called it...urinating competitions?" he commented to Katniss. A thud echoed through the ship as she fell over laughing, leaving Garrus wincing at her volume. "What?"

"Pissing contests, Gar. Close." she explained after a moment, coughing as she tried to stop laughing.

"Anyway, he'll be here soon. I'll let you know when he heads back if you don't say you're ready before that." he said, putting his visor on standby, effectively muting it until she pinged it again.

~~~~~~~~~~

Down in the shuttle bay Katniss popped out of the ducts near Cortez.

"Hey, Steve!" Katniss chirped, surprising the shuttle pilot.

"Geez, Shepard! Don't scare me like that." Steve chided, but laughed. "Mr. Vega just left a couple minutes ago. He said something about "Vakarian's going down." I don't know." Katniss giggled and scrunched her nose up in a grin.

"I know. Hey, just to warn you, you _might_ not want to work on the shuttle or look towards Jimmy's little cave for the next few hours." Cortez looked puzzled for a moment before laughing.

"I get it. You've finally had enough of his teasing, huh?" he asked, laughing again when she replied by holding her thumb and forefinger up just a hair's breadth apart. "Poor Mr. Vega. He has no idea what he's gotten himself into." he joked, shaking his head as he turned to one of his consoles that faced away from the tented area. "Have fun, Shepard."

"Oh, I will. No doubts about _that_." she snickered as she danced across the bay to hunt for a hiding spot. After roughly half an hour she settled into a spot just behind the shaded area of the "tent," hidden by crates, and pinged Garrus' visor twice to signal her readiness. A few moments later he pinged back to say that Vega was on his way. She pinged once more before unlinking their visors and getting into a springing position. She had, at Steve's suggestion, left something to get his attention on the back table to ensure he would come within her reach. That something being the oldest bottle of Tequila she had been able to find on the ship. Sure enough, the first thing James noticed upon returning was the bottle.

"Esteban! You leave this bottle here?" James called across the bay, twisting around from where he stood in front of it.

"Wasn't me, Mr. Vega." Steve called back. While his back was turned, Katniss slipped her hand into the tent and it slightly to one side, yanking her hand out of sight just before he looked back.

"Huh...I wonder who." he mused. He was so intent on the bottle that he didn't notice the figure creeping over the edge of his "tent" until just before she pounced.

"Me!" Katniss declared, latching her legs around James' waist and pinning his back to the table by grabbing the light's supports in her hands.

"Shit, Lola! You tryin' to give me a heart attack? Not that I mind beautiful women throwing themselves at me, but...uhm, why are you looking at me like that? It's kinda scary." he yelped, instinctively moving his hands to grasp her sides so she didn't fall even though she was rather securely latched to his waist.

"You know one thing I love about cats, Conejo?" she mused, letting go of the supports with one hand to tap a finger against his muscled chest.

"Uhh...they're furry? Wait...Conejo? Wh-" he started to question her about the nickname but she silenced him with a finger to his lips and locked eyes with him briefly before looking back at his chest.

"They're patient, almost to a fault. They wait and wait for just the right moment to pounce. But...sometimes they wait too long and miss the moment entirely." She paused for a moment and licked her lips before raising lust-filled eyes to meet his, pointedly poking him in the chest with her index finger. "As adorable as it was to see you rendered completely speechless, Conejo, you never gave me an answer. Do you ever intend to make good on all of your teasing? Because I sure as hell do." she said, moving her face closer until her lips were mere inches from his. She could feel the effect she was having on him; his heart was hammering in his chest, his breathing was shallow, and she could fell him straining against the fabric of his pants; but she left the final move to him. "El gato is waiting, Conejo. What will it be?"

~~~~~~~~~

A million thoughts raced through Vega's mind as his commander hung latched to his waist, her lips only inches from his own. He tried desperately to think through the racing of his pulse and the flood of hormones. Part of him was indignant at being called "rabbit" of all things. Part of him declared he deserved it. Part of him screamed about regs and ranks. Yet another part of him, the part that won...said the woman wasn't going to wait forever.

A feral growl rumbled through Vega's chest as he moved one hand to the back of Shepard's neck and pulled her forward, crushing his lips to hers, his other hand moving to the small of her back.

~~~~~~~~~~

A surprised squeak erupted from her at first, which then became almost a rumbling purr of satisfaction as she met him measure for measure in the kiss. Her hands moved from the light support and his chest to wrap around his neck, one hand burying it's fingers in the base of his Mohawk. She shifted her hips against his as she bit his lower lip and drug her nails through his hair. He broke off with a gasp, the hand at her back moving down to squeeze her rump, his eyes molten as he stared at her, panting heavily.

"One question first, Shepard..." he started, his voice low and his accent thick. "What do you want from this...from me? You know how _I_ am about things, but..." Katniss smirked, locking their eyes and licking swollen lips.

"If I wanted a plaything and only a plaything, Conejo, I'd have gone to Illium." she replied. "I play for keeps, Vega. You should know that by now." she added with a smirk and a roll of her hips, moving a hand towards the fly of his pants but blinking in surprise when he stopped her.

"Not here. You have a perfectly good cabin, don't you?" he teased with a smirk of his own.

"But that's a good three minute climb." she pouted, sticking out her lower lip. "Besides...I don't think I want to let go." The pout turned into a grin as she wriggled and James hissed, grabbing her hips in response.

"There's this handy invention called an elevator, Lola." came his deadpanned reply. "They're all the rage these days." At the mention of the elevator she froze, eyes going wide as she sucked in a sharp breath and shook her head emphatically.

"No." was all she said, moving her hands back toward the light's stands. Before she could reach them James started walking towards said elevator. With each step he took closer to it she flailed more, trying to get away from it, repeating her refusal and drawing puzzled looks from Cortez and the few other crewmen in the bay. Flail as she might she couldn't get away from the mountain of a man, especially once she unlatched herself from his waist and he hefted her over his shoulder. When they finally set foot inside the elevator and the doors closer she went limp and started panting and whimpering. With a raised eyebrow he pulled her from his shoulder and say her down against the railing in one corner. What he saw in her eyes made his own widen with worry.


	2. Chapter 2

"Lola? Shepard...come on, Chica, talk to me." he prompted gently, turning her head so she looked him in the eyes. "EDI, get us to Shepard's cabin, no stops! Shepard..." The elevator began to rise.

"Shepard was trapped in an elevator for multiple hours alone when she was a small child, Lieutenant Vega. As a result, she has not stepped foot inside one since then without her mother at her side. She has refused any treatment and as the phobia does no impede her performance, the Alliance has allowed her to do so." EDI piped up since Katniss remained silent.

"She does just fine with elevators on missions." he countered, still trying to coax a response. Katniss shook her head and spoke in a hushed tone.

"'S different...battle...adrenaline..." she mumbled.

"Adrenaline, huh? Sounds to me like you need to make a _new_ memory of elevators." he said, a sly grin tugging at the corners of his mouth. He have her a moment before he pressed his lips back to hers, coaxing a response from her with lights nips and nibbles at her lower lip. It took a moment but slowly she started to respond, gradually coming back to herself, and once again started battling for dominance in the kiss. He reached out behind him with one hand and hit the button to stop the elevator in place, keeping Shepard occupied with the kiss. When the elevator stopped her eyes flew open but fluttered shut again when James stepped between her legs, one hand caressing her inner thigh while the other rested on her hip. "Trust me, Shepard...Katniss." he murmured softly, moving to nuzzle and nip at her neck. "Have I ever let you down before?"

"N...no." she breathed in response, arching into his touch, heat coiling in her belly. "Never."

"And I never will." he swore, the hand at her waist slipping under her N7 hoodie. He paused but laughed after a moment upon discovering she wore only a bra underneath of it. She tried to look sheepish but failed miserably, losing herself in the feel of his calloused hand drifting over her bare skin. He pulled back just enough to smirk at her before taking her hoodie's zipper in his teeth and pulling it down, baring her midriff. He moved his lips back to her neck, drinking her her soft whimpers and gasps as he slowly moved down her torso. "Querida..." With a brief glance at her face James very lightly placed a kiss just below the fly of her jeans where, under two layers of fabric, her hot core awaited.

"Ah!" Shepard's eyes flew open with a sharp intake of air, hips bucking involuntarily. "James?" she asked shakily, looking down at his smirking face.

"A new memory of elevators, no?" he quipped with a grin, his hands at her hips, as her pants received the same treatment as her hoodie. She let her head droop back against the wall of the elevator, her calves moving to rest against his shoulders for support. One leg at a time he relieved her of her pants and raised an eyebrow at what might be called her undergarment, tiny scrap of fabric that it was. "So full of surprises." he teased, lightly trailing a fingertip over her through the thin fabric and eliciting another gasp of his name. Her hands gripped tightly to the railing, her arms quivering slightly as she tried to hold herself up.

"Ah, James...Dios..." Spanish tumbled from her lips in litanies as a single finger slipped beneath the hemline of her underwear, teasing her. Her eyes slammed shut and she gasped aloud as he took the crotch of them in his teeth, his tongue slipping out to taste her wet center. He murmured his approval as those were dropped on top of her already discarded clothing and blew a light breath over her slickness as he nuzzled and nipped at the soft skin of her inner thighs, very slowly moving toward her body. One of her hands moved from the rail to bury her fingers in his hair once more, her now-bare feet resting on his shoulders. It was then that he noticed the small bandage at the juncture of her hip. Pulling back he gently touched it, looking up at her curiously. "G...go ahead." she breathed with a grin, prying her eyes open to look at him. His brow furrowed with curiosity, he carefully peeled away the bandage and nearly fell backwards off of his feet in shock. There, on her hip, in flowing scrolling script, was his name tattooed. She had actually done it. "Jack did it for me while she was on the Cita-" she started to tell him but was cut off when he surged to his feet, seizing her mouth in a fiery kiss, a sound halfway between a growl and a groan rumbling in his chest. "I guess that means you like it." she breathed out as he pulled away just long enough to hit the button again and grab her clothes in one hand before returning to her and lifting her so she could latch onto him again.

"You tell me." he growled, pressing her against the wall and rolling his hips against hers as he attacked her neck, letting her feel just _how much_ he liked it. She groaned and brought his mouth back to hers as the elevator doors opened. He stumbled into her cabin, dropping her clothes just inside the door as they moved farther into her room, but stopped just at the top of the stairs that led down to her bed and let her down to her feet, suddenly looking a bit sheepish.

"James? What's wrong?" she questioned, her brow furrowing with worry. He didn't say anything, biting at his lower lip. "Do...if you don't want to..." That snapped him out of it.

"No! I mean...I _do_, but..." he fumbled before slapping a hand to his forehead, dragging it down his face. "This is embarrassing." Comprehension dawned in her eyes.

"You're..." He winced and turned his reddening face away from her. She smiled and gently turned his face back to hers. "So am I." His shocked expression made her laugh quietly. "Guess we're both full of shit, no?" He smiled and leaned down to kiss her again, walking backwards toward her bed with her this time. When the backs of his legs hit the bed she smirked and gently shoved him backward onto it. Giving him a minute to scoot back into a comfortable position before crawling up his sprawled frame, she say at his waist and grasped his hands in hers, linking their fingers together. They stayed like that for a moment, smiling at each other, before she placed his hands at her waist and leaned down to kiss him. She propped herself up with one hand on the bed beside him, the other at his jawline, and looked at him, her eyes questioning his certainty. He smiled and nodded once, turning his head to kiss her palm. Her heart skipped a beat at the gesture and she leaned down to kiss him again. They took their time at first, slowly learning each others' bodies, memorizing the places that drove the other further into blissful madness. After a while James rolled her onto her back, grinning and shaking his head when she went to hook her legs around his waist.

"I want a closer look at that tattoo." he murmured against her neck in response to her questioning look. She gasped softly as he moved down her neck, one calloused palm moving up her stomach to cup her breast, his thumb teasingly flicking against the nipple as he dipped his head to take the other in his mouth, suckling lightly and tugging on it with his teeth. She moaned his name, threading the fingers of one hand into his hair, the other fisting into the sheets. He groaned and moved his mouth to the other breast, both of his hands gliding down her sides to caress her thighs. Once he decided he'd lavished her breasts equally he resumed his movement down her torso. Her mewls of pleasure spurring him on, he paused at the tattoo of his name. With a smirk up at her face he carefully traced the flowing script, first with a fingertip then with his tongue. She writhed beneath him, arching into his touch and gasping for breath as his tongue went from the swirling end of the tattoo to the little bundle of nerves that shot sparks of fire burning through her body. A satisfied smirk formed on his face as he settled between her legs, looping an arm under one of her legs and splaying his palm over her waist to hold her down as he very lightly trailed a fingertip along her slickness. A pleased growl rumbled in his chest as he flicked her nub with his tongue, giving it the same attention he had given her breasts, adding light nips as he very slowly pushed a single fingertip into her wetness.

"Ah! James!" she cried, straining against the hand on her hips and trying to press against him. "Dios...yes..." He slid his finger in to the knuckle, pausing for a moment to explore her tightness, before sinking it all the way in, suckling furiously on her nub as he slowly slid the finger in and out, reveling in her gasps and moans.

"More...don't st...ah!" she demanded, back arching as he carefully slid another finger into her wetness alongside the first, going slowly to allow her to adjust. "Ai, Dios...so...good..." He growled hungrily as he added a third finger, pulling his shorts off with his free hand as he stroked and teased her, stretching and readying her for himself.

"Kat...I can't..." he groaned, biting gently at her nub. She gasped and nodded, releasing her hold on his hair so he could crawl back up along her body, wrapping her arms around his neck to kiss him fiercely before locking their eyes and nodding. He rested his forehead against hers as he took himself in hand and pressed the head of this throbbing arousal to her opening, groaning loudly as he carefully pushed inside her. "Ah, Dios mio...you feel so good, Kat..." She moaned his name, her eyes rolling back in her head. It was all he could do to take it slowly and not impale her all at once, but she had other plans. She hooked her feet over his thighs and squeezed his rear with her hands as she pulled him to her with both hands and feet. Instinct took hold of him and he thrust fully inside of her with a groan, remembering himself and giving her a concerned look when she cried out, tears trailing down her temples. Despite his body screaming at him to move he held still until she opened her eyes to look at him and nodded.

"It's okay, James...I'm alright..." she assured him quietly, lightly running her fingertips along his muscled arms and shoulders. "It won't hurt anymore, I promise...it was just..." He nodded and lightly brushed his lips against hers before propping himself up, a hand on either side of her, as he began to move. Gasps and moans of their names pierced the air of her otherwise silent cabin as they moved faster and until they both crashed over the edge. Katniss shrieked his name, her nails leaving furrows down his back as her walls clenched, milking all she could get from him. With a harsh cry he moaned her name, thrusting as deep as he could inside of her and spilling himself, groaning as her fingernails all but pierced the skin of his back. Exhausted, James collapsed on top of Shepard, both of them panting heavily. After taking a moment to regain himself he carefully rolled off of her and flopped over on his back, wrapping his arm around her as she snuggled up to his side, propping her chin on his shoulder.

"Wow..." was all he could say. She laughed softly and nodded, a contented smile on her lips. "That was just...wow."

"Yeah, it was." she agreed, draping an arm over his chest and letting her hand rest over his heart. He turned his head to smile at her as he brought his free hand up to rest atop hers.

"Te amo." he murmured as he lightly kissed her forehead. She blinked in surprised and propped herself up on her elbow, unsure if she'd heard him right.

"What did you...?" she started, trailing off. He blushed and glanced down at the hand on his chest, lacing his fingers through hers.

"I, uh...I...shit." he sighed and looked up at her shyly. "I said "te amo"...Katniss." She said nothing for a moment before laying back down and snuggling into his shoulder with a soft smile.

"Te amo, James." she said quietly, squeezing his hand affectionately. His heart skipped a beat at her reply and he smiled, hugging her to him as they drifted off to sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

SO...final piece in Of Elevators and Memories. But fear not, this is not the last we'll see of Kat and Jimmy. I just don't have it in me to continue along on a prolonged storyline anymore. Drabbles are the best I can do these days. Perhaps later, if the muses deem fit to grace me with the inspiration, but not right now.

I hope you've all enjoyed it and hopefully I can come up with another idea for them soon. Thanks for all the feedback and suggestions.

Ta~

Hours later Katniss jerked awake with a gasp, jolting upright. After a moment she sighed and laid back down once her brain had processed that she was safe in her room. Beside her James cracked his eyes open and draped his arm over her side as she rolled to face him.

"You okay?" James rumbled sleepily before yawning.

"Yeah, just a bad dream." she said through a yawn of her own. "What time is it?" James rolled onto his back and stretched before twisting to look at her bed-side clock.

"Uh, looks like 06:00." he answered turning back wards her. "We should probably get up..."

"It looks like one of us already _is_." she teased with a grin, poking at his stomach. James just smirked.

"What can I say? Waking up beside a beautiful woman..." he said, an undercurrent of laughter in his voice.

"Tempting as it is, we probably should get ready. We wouldn't want to be late. I hear the commander's a real hardass." she quipped, laughing as she sat up and stretched. James let his laughter rumble in his chest as he said up, but it died off when he noticed the small spots of blood on the bedsheets and frowned. She turned to look at him upon his sudden silence, a soft sigh escaping her lips.

"Did I...?" he started but she cut him off, lifting a hand to press her fingertips to his lips to stop him.

"Hurt me? Yes, but also no. I told you I was okay and I am. That's just...what happens that first time." she assured him quietly. His brow furrowed slightly but he nodded, lifting a hand to take hold of hers and turned his head to kiss her palm. "Come on, let's go clean up. I'll deal with that later." She stood, slipping out of the sheets as she headed for her bathroom. Try as he might to be annoyed at himself for hurting her even a little James could not stop the smirk that spread across his lips as he watched her head for her shower. Shaking off the self-imposed funk he stood and followed her.

A bit later James sat on the edge of the bed, pulling his boots on while Katniss dried her hair.

"So...do we care if the rest of the crew knows about this, or...?" he trailed off as he leaned over to tie off his boots' laces. A bark of laughter floated from the bathroom as she peered out the door, toweling her short hair dry.

"I pounced you in the middle of the wide open shuttle bay, Vega. Does that answer your question?" she teased, draping the towel around her neck as she padded into the main part of the room. He held his hands up in mock-surrender, laughing as well. She bent at the pile just inside the door.

"Fair enough, Lola. Just makin' sure I don't say anything you didn't want me to." Hi smile faded when he noticed the worried look on her face as she stared at the pile of her clothes he'd dropped the previous evening. "What?"

"I...my underwear...they're not here." she mused, frowning as she sifted through the pile. After a moment she shook her head and stood, boots and hoodie in hand. "Ah, they probably just got kicked into another part of the room on our way down here." she said with a grin, stopping to grab clean socks and a clean pair of pants and underclothes before sitting beside him on the edge of the bed.

"So...think you're up for taking the elevator to the mess for breakfast?" he asked with a grin as she stood and zipped up her hoodie. She paused for a moment but smiled as she held out a hand to him. He took her smaller hand in his and stood beside her.

"As long as you're with me I think I'll be fine." she said, grimacing slightly at her own sappiness. "Ugh, that sounded less terrible in my head." she added under her breath. He rumbled a laugh and ruffled her hair affectionately as they stepped into the elevator. She tensed at first but relaxed when he pulled her closer to him. "Crew deck, please, EDI."

"Of course, Shepard." EDI replied as the elevator began to move. "Will you be using the elevator from now on?" Katniss chewed at her lower lip in thought briefly.

"Sometimes, I think. It'll take me a while before I can handle it all the time." she said, shifting her weight nervously.

"Very well, Shepard. I will leave the grates unlocked for you until you are ready." she said.

"Thanks, EDI." she replied with a smile as the elevator slowed and stopped.

"You are welcome." The elevator doors opened and the pair was greeted with a surprising number of whistles and cat-calls. They hadn't expected so many people to be in the mess hall already.

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, Copeland. You know you're just jealous." James taunted, smirking. Katniss laughed as she started for the icebox but froze, her jaw dropping open in horror at what she saw on the door. James turned to look at her unexpected silence and his own jaw dropped. There, held to the icebox door with a magnet, were her underwear from the previous evening and a note. James pulled both down in a hurry and handed her the note, quickly stuffing the item of clothing into one of her hoodie's pockets. Her hand all but shook with barely restrained mortification as she read the oddly-paper note to James. Who still used _paper_?

/Figured you'd find these on your way to your coffee when you two

finally got up- or should I say crawled out of bed? Hope

you two had fun, Commander! haha!  
Joker/

"..." The infiltrator's cloak flickered in and out around her, one hand clenching the note and the other's knuckles turning white. James backed away, hands raised defensively and an "oh shit" look dominating his features. After a moment Katniss drew in a deep breath and screamed. "_**MOREAU!**_" Howling laughter filtered through the speakers as the pilot watched her storm towards the nearest vent and scramble into it via EDI's security feeds.

"Totally worth it." Joker said, snickering as he secured the cockpit's grate. He didn't think she'd genuinely hurt him, but better safe than sorry. "Totally." he added with a smirk, linking his hands behind his head with a rather large grin.


End file.
